Bridge Labs report
print design
During my time as the inaugural Experience Design Fellow embedded within the Healthcare Improvement Unit (part of Clinical Excellence Queensland) I was tasked with putting together an impossible-to-ignore report to showcase their Bridge Labs program. The program partners healthcare teams with design, human factors and safety science academics to tackle the many wicked problems in all corners of the healthcare system. In 2020 I worked on a number of projects with HEAL – the Bridge Lab connecting QUT Design Lab and CEQ – which led to the creation of my fellowship role and many other opportunities to apply creative design methods to healthcare contexts. Given that I've experienced the infectious nature of the Bridge Labs first hand, I was excited to design a report that showcased the enormity of the impact from these collaborations and the wealth of experiences created and explored. It couldn't look like your typical government report – we needed something punchy and contemporary that spoke to the spirit of innovation, while also feeling deeply human and collaborative, blending the worlds of design and healthcare.
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Design process
The Bridge Labs (and the Healthcare Improvement Unit at large) didn't have established brand identities, and up until this point had adhered to the Clinical Excellence Queensland/QLD Health style guide in any of their materials. Given that the Bridge Labs represented partnerships between external organisations – including the QUT Design Lab – we had a case to create wiggle room around the style guide while honouring Arial body copy and QLD Health branding. In my initial ideation I explored bridging forms and the blending of worlds, representing both the coming together of different disciplines and the transformation towards innovation. I chose blue and red as my colour scheme - the former being the prevailing colour of QLD health, and the latter representing the disruptive potential of design, human factors and safety science.
The final report
The final 72-page report presents a strong and subversive case for programs like the Bridge Labs to sit at the centre of healthcare innovation in QLD and beyond, creating the partnerships needed to meaningful and impactful healthcare products, systems and experiences. The report follows the growth of the program during its inaugural year, celebrating its infectious nature and giving the team a tool to spread the outcomes far and wide.
Easter egg
The team wanted to include something cheeky - a small easter egg hidden behind a QR code at the end of the report for the curiously inclined to find. So, naturally, we made a secret hand signal!
